Matt Campbell gives Iowa State players clean slate

New Iowa State coach Matt Campbell told reporters during a Cyclones spring practice that he has given his players a clean slate for the upcoming 2016 season.

“Everybody starts with a clean slate, with no preconceived notions,” Campbell said. “We’ve said that from day one — allow these guys to start from scratch and really allow them to see what they look like over a period of time.”

Campbell truly has given his players a clean slate, as he had not even released a depth chart ahead of or going into spring practice. This means that everyone is competing for playing time and no favoritism will be shown to anyone, be they from the Paul Rhoads era or not. Simply put, Matt Campbell wants the Matt Campbell era to start without any strings attached.

And that is just what Campbell should be doing. Iowa State has not won a bowl game since 2009, Rhoads’ first season in Ames, and have not won a conference championship of any kind since 1912. Last season, the Cyclones were 3-9 (2-7 Big 12) and second to last in the Big 12. Thus, best for Campbell to hit the reset button entirely so that he can do his job most effectively.

Given how the man went 35-15 (24-8 MAC) in four-plus seasons with Toledo, it’s likely that the Matt Campbell era at Iowa State could wind up being a good one as the Cyclones look to begin a winning trend in the Big 12 Conference.